A/N: WARNING this chapter contains a flashback...enjoy
Rissy dodged another one of Ezekiel's attacks, jumping and diving to avoid his spells Rissy wasn't going to repeat what happened the last time she fought the emotions manipulator.
Ezekiel smirked, impressed that he wasn't able to land a single hit on the dragon slayer "I see someone has improved..." He hissed, placing his arms up in a defensive stance.
Rissy growled "Of course, I have to be at my best when I fight my old team mates..."
He started to slowly circle her, while keeping his guard up, Rissy following his movements "I do miss the days when we used to be together...the revelation may have disbanded but the real revelation has only just begun..." He hissed, his statement causing Rissy's eyes to widen.
"What do you mean...don't tell me that there's more...?" Rissy asked the salmon haired girl hoping that she was wrong, hoping that the emotion enhancing lacrima was just a one-off idea...and not part of something bigger.
Ezekiel smirked once more "Our plans are none of your concern Rissy-Chan...at least not yet" he hissed, the last part he added with a smirk.
Rissy growled the salmon haired woman wondering just what Elijah was planning.
"enough talking...lets finish this!"
Lucy had tried everything, telling him jokes just wouldn't work; the salmon haired dragon slayer would just stare at her blankly as if she had tried to explain the theory of quantum physics to him. Telling him old stories about their friendship didn't work either, he would just loudly sigh or continue to stare right through her.
"Lucy you haven't tried everything..." Lavender said the lilac exceed giggling like a school girl.
Lucy blushed beet red "There is no way I am kissing Natsu!" She whispered loudly, hoping that none of the others would hear. Glancing around no one seemed to take any notice; Gray was busy trying to catch cats, whilst Erza was trying to catch a cat-obsessed creep.
"But Lushi, you have to try..." Happy sobbed, his tears falling like waterfalls down his cheeks.
Lavender nodded in agreement "...and it isn't like you haven't done it before..." She said with smirk.
Lucy sighed loudly, placing her face inches away from Natsu's "You probably wont enjoy this anyway..." She muttered to herself before she pressed her lips against his.
"Did it work...?" Lavender asked once Lucy pulled away from Natsu
She glanced into his eyes once more...the emptiness was still there.
"Lucy you didn't kiss him good enough!" Happy wailed
Lavender walked off, heading over to the ice mage that was still chasing around the cats "Maybe Gray can help..." Lavender suggested, ushering the ice make mage over to Natsu.
" Good idea maybe Gray can kiss better than you Lushi" Happy exclaimed happily
Lavender just shook her head at the blue exceed "Not to kiss him, silly..." Lavender sighed before walking over towards Gray.
Lucy's eye started to twitch causing Happy to back away...slowly.
Once Gray arrived he sat in front of Natsu , the ice make mage instantly noticing the black look on his face and he sighed.
Lucy and the exceeds eagerly watched Gray wondering what plan he had in mind "Can you help him?" Lavender asked hopefully
Gray nodded "I think so..." He said
Gray placed his index finger in his mouth, causing Lucy and the exceeds to exchange glances.
"Gray, what are you-"
Lucy suddenly froze, a squeal escaped her lips once Gray placed his moist index finger into her ear.
Once Gray removed his finger she instantly started slapping and wiping at her ears as if to rid herself of bugs , squealing once more she shoved the ice mage "Gray...w...what was that!" She gasped
Gray pointed to Natsu, the dragon slayer clutching his stomach in laughter "Luce...that was..." His voice trailed off once he exploded into another laughing fit, causing Lucy to sigh.
"So my kisses aren't good enough to get you out of despair..." she mumbled to himself
Lavender placed a paw on the celestial mage "Don't worry Lucy, it'll get better..."
Lucy 's eye twitched "What do you mean by that?!" She exclaimed
Lavender sweat dropped, and then stated to laugh nervously "I wonder how Rissy-Chan is doing...?"
"Don't change the subject!" Lucy exclaimed
Ezekiel aimed a fear spell at his salmon haired opponent and much to displeasure Rissy dodged the fear spell, glancing around the dark dungeon for any sign of the salmon haired mage, Ezekiel frowned.
Taking a step forward he glanced around once more, smirking once he heard a small sound over to hisleft "I hope that you aren't hiding from me, Rissy-Chan" He said with mock sweetness as he walked over to where he heard the frowned once he got no response: It's not like Rissy-Chan to hide... he thought to himself once he found the area empty.
Rissy hid behind one of the pillars holding up the ceiling, she glanced around to see if Ezekiel was close,but to her relief he was in the opposite direction. She slowly stood up, careful to not make too much noise as she quickly walked over to the next pillar.
She suddenly stopped as a large black cat blocked her path, the cat had its lips peeled back as it hissedloudly at her.
"Cat...go away...do you want me to get caught!" She whispered loudly to the creature.
She screamed loudly once she felt a sudden wave of magic hit her causing her to fall to the ground. She screamed once more as the new emotion hit her, she slowly staggered up, only to be hit by another wave of this emotion. Screaming loudly she placed her hands on her temples as if to stop the emotion, she squeezed her eyes shut to block it out however everywhere she looked she felt it.
A sudden chorus of laughter caused her to glance up to look at Ezekiel, he smiled once more as he sent another wave of the emotion towards Rissy, she clasped her hands over her mouth in trying to muffle out her screams.
"How do you like my new spell, Rissy-Chan?" He asked
She breathed deeply before looking back up at him "W...what spell is it, I haven't felt like this for a long time..." she gasped
Ezekiel smirked "Its called Fear" he said before he raised his hands once more, however this time everyone in the entire dungeon including her nakama, the cats...even Lurch erupted in loud screams.
Myon fell to the floor clutching his head "Y..you fool what are you doing!" He shouted over to Ezekiel. "You work for me!"
Ezekiel smirked "Correction I worked...you see your resources proved useful for my plan... however as much as it doesn't pain me to say, out partnership has now ended..."
Myons expression changed to pure anger "Y..you fool!" he shouted, suddenly a magic circle appeared before his outstretched hands, however before he could land an attack Ezekiel sent out another 'Fear' spell causing everyone to fall to the ground screaming once more.
Ezekiel turned his focus back to Rissy, he slowly walked over to her motionless body giving her a kick to the stomach.
She coughed out in pain before turning to face the man she had once called her friend "Bastard..." She spat before Ezekiel kicked her once more.
He smirked "Always have something to say, Rissy-Chan..." He hissed before a purple magic circle appeared before him.
She instantly closed her eyes, bracing herself for another one of his spells.
A much younger Rissy, about seven or eight ran into the cave, the sound of thunder could be heard over head as she ran after her Mother into the shelter. The rain didn't bother her at all, she actually liked it since rain would make the flowers grow. The lightening didn't bother her either or the thunder, she loved the way it lit up the night sky and the way the thunder roared like and angry monster. But the thing that she minded the thing that she hated was he darkness.
Whenever there was a thunderstorm her and her mother, Leora would retreat into the caves for shelter, the lightning wasn't good to be caught out in...no matter how cool it looked.
She shifted closer to her mother, not enjoying the darkness that they were surrounded by and every so often she would flinch as shadows danced across the walls.
The lightning struck once more, revealing the shape of a long thin hand on the wall, the small girl shrieked diving behind her now sleeping mother's tail.
Leora started to stir and gently curled her tail around the small child and brought her close up to her face.
"Child...what is the matter?" The cyan dragon asked
Rissy buried her face into Leora's tail and sniffed quietly "I'm scared..." She whispred.
The dragon smiled and brought Rissy a little closer to her "Clarissa, there is no need to be scared..." She said soflty
Rissy sniffed once more, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand "B...but there's scary stuff and I don't know how to not be scared" She said sadly
Leora smiled once more "I know one way...it's one emotion that's even stronger than fear"
Rissy was confused "What's an emotion?"
Leora smiled "I thought That I had a smart child..." Leora laughed as she poked Rissy gently with one of her claws.
Rissy pouted folding her arms over her chest "You do..." she whined
Leora chuckled "An emotion is how you feel, so when you are scared the emotion you are experiencing is fear" Leora explained causing Rissy to nod.
"Then what's stronger than fear?" Rissy asked, she suddenly flinched as the hand appeared once more.
"Hope..."
Rissy tilted her head to the side "Hope..?"
Leora nodded "It's the strongest emotion...even stronger than fear"
Rissy nodded and decide that she'll hope that the storm would end soon.
Lightening suddenly struck once more and the hand once again made its appearance, only this time Rissy noticed that it was the shadow of a tree branch, so there was really nothing to fear.
"Hope..." She whispered to herself before she drifted off to sleep
Opening her eyes she spotted Ezekiel staring at her with a mixture of both anger and shock on his face.
"Whats wrong with you?" She asked as she stood up
Ezekiel stood speechless for a moment "My spell had no effect on you"
Rissy smirked "That's because I had hope" She stated
"Hope?"
She nodded as she started to collect magic energy "Hope that we'll beat you"
Ezekiel frowned, anger clear on his features "But fear is-"
"...Nothing compared to hope" Rissy snapped "..and it's time that you realized that"
He quickly raised his hands, a purple magic circle appearing before him once more however a blast of multi-colored light knocked the wind out of him sending him to the ground.
Lifting his head he saw his salmon haired opponent, her waist length hair hung wild around her and her eyes gleamed with an emotion that he had never seen...the emotion she had called hope.
She knelt so that she was eye level with him and she raised her hand. He instantly flinched assuming that she was going to attack him however his eyes widened once he realized that she had placed her hand on his shoulder.
He glanced over at the place where her hand was placed and then he turned to face her, she was just facing him with a smile and the way her eyes gleamed with hope brought tears even to his eyes.
"W...what are you doing?" He asked, his voice filled with sudden emptiness.
Rissy smiled once more "You were once my friend...friends don't fight" She stated
He turned away from her, trying his best to resist her contagious smile...he had a job today, a part to play...he couldn't just give it all up and for what...happiness, for friendship...for hope?
He squeezed his eyes shut and then turned to face her with a pain filled gaze "look, Rissy-Chan I am sorry...for everything"
She shook her head "I know...but you can put that behind you...come back to Fairy Tail with us" She suggested
Ezekiel shook his head sadly once more "I can't...I'm too far gone and..."
She placed her free hand on his other shoulder and looked him right in the eyes "No...there still is hope...a hope for a better future...so there is no need to be afraid"
Ezekiel sighed "What if I want to be afraid?"
Rissy frowned "Then you are a fool...because no matter where you go hope will find you"
He stiffened as Rissy wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a tight hug.
Ezekiel continued to stare at her wide-eyed, wondering how she could be so hopeful...
"Then I have nothing to fear" He said before he fished into his pocket and brought out a lacrima. "Bye Rissy-Chan" He whispred
Ezekiel placed the lacrima in Rissy's hand she turned to ask him what is was for however he was walking over to Erza with his hands up in surrender.
"Rissy...whats that?" Lavender asked, the small exceed stared at the small clear lacrima in Rissy's hands.
Rissy clenched her hands around the small object and smiled once she felt a familiar feeling wash over her "Hope..."
"You monsters destroyed my dungeon!" Myon sobbed as Erza tied him up with magic rope. The scarlet haired mage had earlier tied up Ezekiel, the emotions manipulator was sitting in a crossed legged position whilst Lavender scolded him for his actions.
Rissy opened her mouth to deliver some sort of sassy come back to owner of the manor, however a tall brunette in a tattered dress got in first.
"Hey...you're the monster for turning me into a cat!" She snapped.
Rissy gasped instantly recognizing the voice as Jen's "Jen!" She shouted as she ran over to the brunette
"Rissy!" Jen shouted "You guys defeated them!" She exclaimed happily
Rissy nodded "So now all we have to do is turn these creeps in, destroy all the lacrima and return you all home...easy!" She added with a toothy grin
Jen smiled "Wow...you guys are amazing!" She exclaimed before embracing Rissy in a tight hug.
The cats were starting to turn back into girls, the Fairy Tail mages were surprised at how many girls there actually were in the manor. Erza decided that it would be best to take them all to the hospital since none of them didn't want to hurt the women even more by trying to remove the emotion enhancing lacrimas.
"Is that the last bag?" Erza asked once Rissy used her magic to destroy another bag of catnip
Rissy nodded "Yeah...but Gray and Lavender found some solid ones upstairs" Rissy said sadly
Erza nodded "I'll make sure that we do a thorough check of the manor before we leave" She said before walking towards the door "And Rissy..."
She turned to the scarlet haired mage " Yes Erza?"
"Good work" She said with a smile
"Thanks Erza" Rissy said a toothy grin across her face "What about them?" She asked
Rissy stood at the front of the mansion's gates, sighing happily once the sun started to rise "That was..." She paused to find the right word "...Creepy" She sighed once the early morning sun greeted her skin. The Fairy Tail mages along with some of the captive girls nodded in agreement. It looked as if everyone was glad to put the vents of the manor behind them.
"Y..you know that I am rich" Myon stuttered in yet another attempt to buy his freedom
Lurch looked at his master disgusted "Master, at least pretend to have some dignity left!" He exclaimed before attempting to straighten his bow tie with his bound hands.
Lucy laughed "Yeah and I believe the correct term is 'was rich'" Lucy pointed out causing Myon to hang his head with shame.
"Rissy, what was the 'revelation...?" Lavender asked, the question had been playing on her mind ever since she had heard Ezekiel use the term.
Rissy stiffened "You might as well tell them..." Ezekile sighed as he glanced behind to face Rissy.
Rissy nodded and turned to the rest of her friends "Well..." Rissy said once they started walking down the dirt path "It was the name of the tam that I was part of...back in my old guild" she sighed.
Lucy nodded sadly "So with what Ezekiel said...are they back together?" The celestial mage asked.
Rissy shrugged her shoulders the statement Ezekiel had said earlier playing on her mind too.
"Elijah summoned us all and gave each of us an individual task...as you saw mine was to create an emotion enhancing lacrima"
Rissy stared at her old friend; if what Ezekiel was saying was true this meant that all the members had some sort of plan cooked up.
"Hey, do you know what he's planning?!" Natsu exclaimed, standing right in front of Ezekiel
Ezekiel shook his head and turned to face Rissy "Rissy-Chan...please tell your brother that he is invading my personal space"
Rissy face palmed "Natsu, Ezekiel doesn't like people invading his personal bubble" She sighed
Natsu folded his arms "I still think that he's hiding something" He muttered to himself, earning an 'Aye sir' from Happy.
Erza poked Myon in the shoulder, the scarlet-haired mage had foiled his fourth escape attempt "Who were the member of your old team?" Erza asked
"Well there's Elijah; the leader, me his previous right hand, Ezekiel his left, the twins Emmanuel and Ester...Ester was known as the master of illusions whereas Emmanuel was a feeder"
Lucy stopped to glance over at Rissy "Feeder...?"
"A feeder is someone who absorbs another persons' magic and then uses it them self" Erza explained to the celestial mage
Gray frowned, the group of people sounded power full enough and now it looked as if they were each forming their own plans "Do you know where they might be?" He asked
Rissy shook his head and then she turned to Ezekiel "To be honest I've only been met Elijah the day he gave me the assignment and even then he keeps his locations unknown...the others I haven't seen them..." Ezekiel sighed
Rissy nodded, taking Ezekiel's word however Erza kept a close eye on the mage.
"I guess that's too bad" Rissy sighed sadly
As if sensing his sister's sadness, Natsu placed a hand on her shoulder the usual toothy grin plaster across his face.
"Then we'll be ready" He stated matter of factly and Rissy couldn't help but flash back the same smile since her brother toothy grins were very contagious.
What did you think of that?
Stay tuned for the next chapter 'What the...Fudge!"
JustAnotherFairy :)